A Review of Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy in the Management of Gastrointestinal Malignancies.

In this review, we explore the role of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) and other advanced radiotherapy techniques in the treatment of gastrointestinal malignancies, which primarily involves primary and secondary liver cancers and pancreatic cancers. The review examines radiotherapy in both curative and palliative settings, emphasizing the evolution of SBRT and hypofractionation as alternatives to conventional radiotherapy. We review the recent literature evaluating radiotherapy in the management of unresectable, borderline resectable, and metastatic pancreatic cancer, highlighting recent advances in radiotherapy techniques that aim to improve local control, reduce toxicity, and increase resectability in appropriate patients.

Comparison of two validated instruments to measure financial hardship in cancer survivors: comprehensive score for financial toxicity (COST) versus personal financial wellness (PFW) scale.

Purpose: Financial distress and financial toxicity are recognized challenges in cancer survivorship. Financial toxicity includes both objective measures of hardship and subjective distress. We hypothesized that subjective financial distress is correlated to overall holistic financial toxicity.

Informing healthcare operations with integrated pathology, clinical, and epidemiology data: Lessons from a single institution in Kenya during COVID-19 waves.

Pathology, clinical care teams, and public health experts often operate in silos. We hypothesized that large data sets from laboratories when integrated with other healthcare data can provide evidence that can be used to optimize planning for healthcare needs, often driven by health-seeking or delivery behavior. From the hospital information system, we extracted raw data from tests performed from 2019 to 2021, prescription drug usage, and admission patterns from pharmacy and nursing departments during the COVID-19 pandemic in Kenya (March 2020 to December 2021).

Adenovirus serotype 5 vaccine vectors trigger IL-27-dependent inhibitory CD4 T cell responses that impair CD8 T cell function.

Adenovirus serotype 5 (Ad5) vaccine vectors elicit robust CD8 T cell responses, but these responses typically exhibit a partially exhausted phenotype. However, the immunologic mechanism by which Ad5 vectors induce dysfunctional CD8 T cells has not previously been elucidated. Here we demonstrate that, following immunization of B6 mice, Ad5 vectors elicit antigen-specific IL-10CD4 T cells with a distinct transcriptional profile in a dose-dependent fashion.

Ad26/MVA therapeutic vaccination with TLR7 stimulation in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys.

The development of immunologic interventions that can target the viral reservoir in HIV-1-infected individuals is a major goal of HIV-1 research. However, little evidence exists that the viral reservoir can be sufficiently targeted to improve virologic control following discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy. Here we show that therapeutic vaccination with Ad26/MVA (recombinant adenovirus serotype 26 (Ad26) prime, modified vaccinia Ankara (MVA) boost) and stimulation of TLR7 (Toll-like receptor 7) improves virologic control and delays viral rebound following discontinuation of antiretroviral therapy in SIV-infected rhesus monkeys that began antiretroviral therapy during acute infection.

Protective efficacy of multiple vaccine platforms against Zika virus challenge in rhesus monkeys.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is responsible for a major ongoing epidemic in the Americas and has been causally associated with fetal microcephaly. The development of a safe and effective ZIKV vaccine is therefore an urgent global health priority. Here we demonstrate that three different vaccine platforms protect against ZIKV challenge in rhesus monkeys.

Immediate Dysfunction of Vaccine-Elicited CD8+ T Cells Primed in the Absence of CD4+ T Cells.

CD4(+) T cell help is critical for optimal CD8(+) T cell memory differentiation and maintenance in many experimental systems. In addition, many reports have identified reduced primary CD8(+) T cell responses in the absence of CD4(+) T cell help, which often coincides with reduced Ag or pathogen clearance. In this study, we demonstrate that absence of CD4(+) T cells at the time of adenovirus vector immunization of mice led to immediate impairments in early CD8(+) T cell functionality and differentiation.

Vaccine protection against Zika virus from Brazil.

Zika virus (ZIKV) is a flavivirus that is responsible for the current epidemic in Brazil and the Americas. ZIKV has been causally associated with fetal microcephaly, intrauterine growth restriction, and other birth defects in both humans and mice. The rapid development of a safe and effective ZIKV vaccine is a global health priority, but very little is currently known about ZIKV immunology and mechanisms of immune protection.

Production of Mucosally Transmissible SHIV Challenge Stocks from HIV-1 Circulating Recombinant Form 01_AE env Sequences.

Simian-human immunodeficiency virus (SHIV) challenge stocks are critical for preclinical testing of vaccines, antibodies, and other interventions aimed to prevent HIV-1. A major unmet need for the field has been the lack of a SHIV challenge stock expressing circulating recombinant form 01_AE (CRF01_AE) env sequences. We therefore sought to develop mucosally transmissible SHIV challenge stocks containing HIV-1 CRF01_AE env derived from acutely HIV-1 infected individuals from Thailand.

Attenuation of Replication-Competent Adenovirus Serotype 26 Vaccines by Vectorization.

Replication-competent adenovirus (rcAd)-based vaccine vectors may theoretically provide immunological advantages over replication-incompetent Ad vectors, but they also raise additional potential clinical and regulatory issues. We produced replication-competent Ad serotype 26 (rcAd26) vectors by adding the E1 region back into a replication-incompetent Ad26 vector backbone with the E3 or E3/E4 regions deleted. We assessed the effect of vectorization on the replicative capacity of the rcAd26 vaccines.

Construction and evaluation of novel rhesus monkey adenovirus vaccine vectors.

Unlabelled: Adenovirus vectors are widely used as vaccine candidates for a variety of pathogens, including HIV-1. To date, human and chimpanzee adenoviruses have been explored in detail as vaccine vectors. The phylogeny of human and chimpanzee adenoviruses is overlapping, and preexisting humoral and cellular immunity to both are exhibited in human populations worldwide.

International seroepidemiology of adenovirus serotypes 5, 26, 35, and 48 in pediatric and adult populations.

Recombinant adenovirus serotype 5 (rAd5) vaccine vectors for HIV-1 and other pathogens have been shown to be limited by high titers of Ad5 neutralizing antibodies (NAbs) in the developing world. Alternative serotype rAd vectors have therefore been constructed. Here we report Ad5, Ad26, Ad35, and Ad48 NAb titers in 4381 individuals from North America, South America, sub-Saharan Africa, and Southeast Asia.